July 17, 2013

Saudi Arabia: 2 new MERS cases, neither hospitalized

Within the framework of the epidemiological surveillance of the novel Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced that two confirmed cases of this virus have been recorded.

The first case is for a 26-old-year Saudi male in Asir, who was in contact with one of the cases previously announced to be infected with the virus. The second case is for a 42-year-old female resident working at the health sector in Asir. Both cases have mild symptoms, so it was not recommended to be hospitalized.

It is worth mentioning that, the MOH has tested 1460 samples from the beginning of the previous month (Sha‘ban), given that, all of such samples have been proved negative, May Allah be praised, except the cases that have been published.

This statement raises a lot of questions: What are "mild" symptoms? Who were the cases' prior MERS contacts, and when did they start showing their "mild" symptoms? Is the health worker still on the job? What tests did they undergo? Are they under any form of observation—or quarantine?

Comments

Within the framework of the epidemiological surveillance of the novel Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced that two confirmed cases of this virus have been recorded.

The first case is for a 26-old-year Saudi male in Asir, who was in contact with one of the cases previously announced to be infected with the virus. The second case is for a 42-year-old female resident working at the health sector in Asir. Both cases have mild symptoms, so it was not recommended to be hospitalized.

It is worth mentioning that, the MOH has tested 1460 samples from the beginning of the previous month (Sha‘ban), given that, all of such samples have been proved negative, May Allah be praised, except the cases that have been published.

This statement raises a lot of questions: What are "mild" symptoms? Who were the cases' prior MERS contacts, and when did they start showing their "mild" symptoms? Is the health worker still on the job? What tests did they undergo? Are they under any form of observation—or quarantine?